In the printing industry, means are provided to fold paper stock as issuing from a printing press. In most instances such means comprises a purely mechanical operation wherein the sheet stock, after having been printed, is folded through an interaction of a plurality of rollers. Several parameters affect the efficiency and accuracy of such folding mechanisms such as the speed of the traveling stock, the type of folds desired, the stock composition and its weight.
An alternative method of folding may include the initial process of scoring the paper by the application of a bead of fluid upon the surface of the traveling paper stock. In such processes, referred to as water scoring, the applied fluid bead or line, serves to partially break down fibers of the paper stock and thus prepares the paper for a more accurate and efficient folding operation.